


The price paid in blood

by ScribblesInTheMargins



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Royalty, Blood and Violence, M/M, Minor Character Death, Not A Happy Ending, Rusalka (Water Spirit), Zine: Namida
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-01
Updated: 2019-07-01
Packaged: 2020-05-31 01:12:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,987
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19415395
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ScribblesInTheMargins/pseuds/ScribblesInTheMargins
Summary: Prince Otabek is third in line, an insurance policy no one needs in times of peace.  When another kingdom brings a coronation present like no other,  Otabek is captivated.  Beauty can be very dangerous, and this one most certainly is.*** This is a zine piece for Namida and there is accompanying artwork which will be linked as soon as it is posted ***





	The price paid in blood

When Yuri woke, he couldn't breathe. Something wet was covering his head, and he felt the rough rope cutting into his bound wrists. Panic was rising as he felt his entire body shiver -- it was so cold and dry and … he knew he was going to die.

As whatever vehicle he was in hit a hole in the road, he was tossed to the side, slapping into a wall of the crate. Fluid dribbling from his mouth as he tried to breathe this too dry air. Blood -- he could taste blood now, and he knew there was damage to his body. He needed to calm down. Panic wouldn't help him here. He needed to be calm.

Arching his back, he could tell he was in some sort of container. His wrists were bound and as he tugged on the rope, he knew he couldn't pull his way free. The container was shorter than he was, his body painfully twisted so that he could fit, but he still had a few tricks.

Arching his back as far as he could, he found the sharp, bony spine of one of his fins. Even with his hands bound, he was still able to maneuver so he could slowly start to rub the ropes along the sharpest spike of the fin, hoping it wouldn't do too much damage, but he (( had )) to get out of here. All the stories about what humans did to his kind were all the same -- he'd be killed.

Fate did not have anything so kind in mind for Yuri and, before he could get free, the movement of the vehicle stopped. He was soon being bounced from one side of the container to the other as his container was carried. As his shoulder was slammed hard, he couldn't stop himself from releasing a cry of pain. Instantly the crate was dropped, one wooden corner breaking and the bright sun shining in as even dryer air flooded his container.

There was yelling, and suddenly he felt the damaged crate moving faster. The talking was in a language he didn't know, and suddenly he realized that he had no idea how long he had been unconscious. The fear washing over him as he realized exactly how far from home he might be.

* * *

Otabek stood at the top of the stairs, looking down at the commotion in the courtyard. He was the third and youngest son, so not important. He was neither heir nor spare and, in these times of peace, unneeded.

He stood there, looking at the commotion down below. His eldest brother's coronation was happening in a few days. His father was stepping down as the king, deciding that, instead of ruling, he would advise the eldest. While Otabek had concerns about how wise it was for his brother to take over, he loved his family. The three of them and his father had been all the family that he could remember for most of his life. His mother had died only a few months after he had been born. No one blamed him, it had been an illness that roared through the country in the cold winter. Otabek blamed himself though. If his mother hadn't just had him a few months before, maybe she would have been healthy enough to survive.

There was no sense in thinking of that. In his memory, all the woman had ever been was a beautiful woman with long dark hair and near black eyes. His father had never remarried -- rumor was that the marriage, although arranged, had turned into one of love. That wasn't important now. It didn't change anything -- except perhaps to excuse some of the coldness that had overtaken his father since she had died. Maybe that was the same reason his two older brothers tended towards cruelty at times. They had known a mother's love and had it taken away. Otabek had never known what he grew up without.

He leaned on the railing, looking down into the huge courtyard where a copper tank with inlaid glass windows had been installed. It was a gift from the country just to the north and east of them. Why there was a tank he didn't know, but the men walking towards it carried a huge wooden crate. Otabek started to make his way down the stairs, watching as they manhandled the crate before setting it next to the tank. He was halfway down the stairs as his father and his eldest brother walked in from the throne room.

The men carrying the crate didn't seem to be bothered by the audience. Instead, they opened the crate, reaching in with thick leather gloves on their hands. The four men, coordinating their lifting in their native language, grabbed a burlap covered item -- no, creature. It was moving, thrashing desperately. It had to be a creature. Then they tossed it into the water, cloth covering and all. Otabek had reached the tank by the time to creature freed itself from the burlap. As soon as it emerged, all three Altins stopped, eyes locked on the form in the water. It was beautiful.

The creature sank to the bottom, clearly exhausted, eyes closed and taking deep breaths of the water as the skin on its neck fluttered, the gills now apparent as it breathed desperately. For a moment, it's beauty could almost make you forget it wasn't human. The creature's upper body resembled that of a man, but a beautiful one. Even with the gills, it seemed to be gasping for breath with its mouth as well. Long blond hair, well past where the creature's waist would have been, floated in the water, resembling a painting more than anything one could see in reality. Its arms though -- they were covered in bruises and cuts, and its wrists were tied tightly behind its back. But on its bottom half, vibrant green and blue scales covered something that was not fish, although there was no other way to describe it. The long tail was covered in flowing fins, contorting and wrapping around the bottom to cushion the creatures as it sank down to the bottom of the tank.

It was then that Otabek saw it; the blood on the fin that was highest on the creature's tail was from wounds that appeared self-inflicted. It was trying to slice the rope with the only sharp object it had; its own fins.

"He's still tied up in there!" Otabek didn't even realize that he had run to the side of the tank. Ignoring the fighting between the men who brought the creature as they tried to blame each other, he grabbed the knife from his boot and without thought, climbed up to throw himself into the tank with the creature. He didn't even pause to think about how dangerous this could be, he had to free the creature.

* * *

Yuri hurt. He'd been thrown around the container. He'd been grabbed and manhandled. This water was too hot and too salty. It felt wrong, but he could finally breathe through his gills and not just his mouth. That didn't ease the ache in his shoulders or the pain in his wrists. He needed to get his arms free, no matter how it hurt his fin - and it did hurt, electric pain radiating through his bones. His eyes were closed tight, the lights too bright here as the sun streamed in, heating the water even more.

His eyes flew open as he felt someone else enter the water. For a moment, he didn't know what to do as he saw a human coming at him with a knife. With his hands tied, he was near defenseless -- not entirely though. He tried to turn, moving so that he could try and attack with his tail, even as he felt the human's hands grab his arm. Yuri let out a scream, a gut-wrenching call of terror and pain that had any of his kind been near would have called his people to him for aid. Here, he was all alone.

As he tried to slash at the human with his tail, the attack was hindered by the man's legs -- he'd never fought one of them before. He'd only seen them in the distance. His people were taught to stay away from them. Humans were dangerous.

At first, Yuri didn't realize the rope had been cut -- all he knew was he felt the blade on his arm and he was pushing towards the human, his teeth latching into that shoulder. There wasn't room to get away in the tank. He was trapped. This cage gave him no chance to run, but he wasn't going to go down without a fight.

Before Yuri could do anything else, a sharp pain erupted from the back of his head. Whatever object slammed into him, he never saw it coming. Blackness washed over him, and he fell unconscious as he sunk to the bottom of the tank.

* * *

Otabek's head broke the water, gasping for air, he looked around, "Who did that! Why did you attack him!"

"It was attacking you, your highness!" The guard with his pike seemed stunned that Otabek was mad.

"Otabek! Get out of there! What were you thinking!" His father was yelling.

"He's injured!"

“That is a dangerous creature. Get out of there now."

As Otabek slipped out of the water, pulling off most of his wet clothes and trusting someone would have dry ones for him in just a few moments, he moved to the floor, looking into the tank through one of the windows. The creature seemed unconscious, his chest still moving with each breath. The water near him was tinted in pink, the cuts on his body and the damage to his fin were not the only source. With how he had landed on the bottom of the tank, Otabek could see a fresh wound - a cut - about three inches long along his arm, and Otabek knew that was from him.

"You have to be more careful." His father was lecturing him even as he looked in the tank as well. His fear for his youngest son now fading so he could watch. Now, unconscious, the creature's beauty could be seen. Blond hair drifted slowly in the water, not giving the creature any modesty, but maybe such thoughts didn't occur to creatures like this thing.

"What is he?" Otabek's voice was barely above a whisper.

As Otabek asked the question, the emissary from the other kingdom walked in. "Ahh, he got here. Isn't he beautiful? A Rusalka. They come from the snow country north of us. Vicious but beautiful." The emissary looked at the bite on Otabek's shoulder, the thick fabric of the tunic and shirt keeping the bite from having broken the skin. "You escaped relatively unharmed. My men tell me you got in the water with it."

"A Rusalka?" Otabek's hand rested on the tank.

"We call them mermaids down here." His father greeted the emissary, holding out both hands to properly welcome the man.

"Oh no, this is no mermaid. This is a monster of the rivers and the lakes. Carnivorous monster -- all of its kind."

"From the north…" Otabek whispered as he watched the creature, seeing him slowly start to regain consciousness, those jewel-like eyes opening as he withdrew to the far corner of the tank. The only shadow cast on the water was where he hid now, pulling in on himself as he seemed to be looking over his wounds. It was beautiful -- no, he was beautiful.

"From the crystalline lakes. Rumor has it they live deep in the waters in the winter, hiding from the ice, and come out once the land thaws to prey on the innocent. In the north, for the first two weeks of spring, no one goes near the water -- too many villagers have been killed.”

Otabek didn't take his eyes off the tank, looking at the creature, until he pulled back sharply when his eyes locked on Otabek's and those lips pulled back into a clear hiss. Then Otabek realized something, "Then why do we have it in salt water?" He glared at the people who seemed to be in charge of taking care of the creature.

"It's how mermaids ---"

"It's not a mermaid. Change the water." Otabek's order was sharp. He didn't accept incompetence, not when it caused harm.

"Beka." His father's reprimand.

"We aren't inhumane." He frowned at his father, even as a servant came to tend to the wound on his shoulder.

"Are they poisonous?" The king demanded an answer, his son had been bitten after all -- even if it had not pierced the skin.

"Your son is very lucky it did not penetrate his skin. The bite is painful but not deadly." The emissary looked at the tank, rapping sharply on the glass which caused the Rusalka to pull himself further away as the noise vibrated through the water.

Otabek had had enough. He grabbed the dry shirt now that his wound was bandaged and left -- he wasn't going to be a witness to this anymore.

* * *

Everything hurt. Yuri looked out at the people arguing outside his new prison. The water in this tank hurt his eyes, it made it hard to breathe, and it made his skin and scales feel weird. He was hungry -- he hadn't been fed in all the days of travel, but he didn't think he'd be getting food anytime soon, if ever. They'd probably further weaken him and then kill him; it was what he had been told humans did.

Even as he ran his hand over the fresh cut in his arm, he frowned. Had that human been trying to hurt him, this would have been so much worse -- maybe he had freed him so whoever was in charge would be able to enjoy a cleaner 'battle' or whatever these humans called it when they killed one of his kind. He saw that human being yelled at, but another one was tending the wound where Yuri knew he had bitten him. Maybe he wasn't a servant -- maybe a soldier doing the bidding of the ruler? Either way, even if he had been freed from his ropes, he was still a prisoner here. Any sense of freedom from escaping the ropes was a fallacy and he knew it.

Yuri let his eyes close; conserving his energy was the smartest thing to do. He let himself sink into something close to sleep, unable to fully rest in such a dangerous place.

* * *

That night, Otabek had finally won the argument about how to keep the Rusalka, and he was standing in the great hall as most of the water was drained from the tank. He watched as the Rusalka seemed to panic, swimming from corner to corner rapidly, the action enough to reopen the wound on the creature’s main fin.

Otabek frowned, trying to speak in a calming tone, knowing the creature was incapable of understanding what was being said. Then, as he saw the creature's eyes narrow, Otabek frowned. Did he think this was because of how he had hurt him? No … the creature would soon know that this was for his own good.

While the tank wasn't drained fully, once the cool lake water was added, the salinity decreased dramatically, as well as the temperature, and the creature moved back into his corner away from the sun. Otabek kept watching, waiting to see how he reacted as a curtain was raised over half the tank, giving the water even more shade.

Then, the last item was bought, and this one Otabek presented directly. The best he could find from any research was that Rusalka could live off fish. He held a freshly caught lake trout over the edge of the tank. There was wariness in the creature’s eyes, but hunger always seemed to be the secret with winning over animals -- at least in Otabek's experience. His hunting dogs, his horse, his eagle -- food was always appreciated.

He watched the Rusalka swim over, reluctantly, and with movements clearly sore, but he kept the fish held out until those hands grabbed it and quickly retreated to the far side of the tank. Yes, this was a win for the day. With that, Otabek smiled at the beautiful creature, leaving him now as the sun was going down, as he retired to his quarters for the night.

* * *

Yuri awoke to people banging outside his water-filled prison. From the safest corner, he watched as they moved around -- the one human was back, the one that had freed his arms. When the water started to be drained from his tank, Yuri couldn't control the panic, swimming from corner to corner of the enclosure, knowing there was no escape but his instincts taking over. He had to find a way out -- but then, before he could do anything, water was being added. Instead of warm ocean water, this was much colder, with the distinct taste and smell of lake water. As more and more lake water filled the enclosure, his body felt better and better.

When a tent was added, Yuri wasn't sure what to think. Humans were not kind to his people -- ever. They were dangerous and to be feared -- always. This though, aside from the hunger his body felt, this was the best he had felt since he had been taken from his home.

He was about to curl back into his corner and try to rest some more when he saw the human walk up to the tank with something in his hands, holding it over the water, and instantly, Yuri knew he wanted that. No... he needed that. It was dangerous, so dangerous, but what did he have to lose? He could see the fish in the man's hands, and he was starving. Slowly and carefully, he made his way over to take the fish, retreating from the human as soon as the meal was in his grasp.

As night fell, Yuri let himself rest, staying still to conserve his energy until the moon rose, the pale light coming in through the windows of the fortress. He'd make them pay. Just not today -- soon though. They didn't know what they had captured clearly -- else they never would have untied him -- no, else they would have never taken him into their home.

* * *

Every day for the next week, Otabek made sure to visit the tank, checking on the creature trapped within. He was beautiful. He couldn't help but be drawn to those jewel eyes the creature had. Every morning and every night, he brought some sort of food for the Rusalka. Most often dinner was a freshly caught fish. Once it had been an eel, once some clams. All the food was taken with an ever-increasing quickness, the reluctance of the first day decreasing. The only gift that was not accepted was the morning after a storm when he couldn't get a fresh fish, so he had tried a chicken.

He made sure the tank was maintained and someone was always guarding the creature to make sure he stayed safe. When one morning his eldest brother joined him, Otabek could hardly maintain his normally stoic demeanor. He was just too excited about the creature that had become his obsession.

"I found references to his kind in the library. They're used to fresh water, so we brought in water from the lake, and I couldn't find any reference to what they eat, but with his teeth, I assumed some sort of meat. He's eaten several types of fish and some other seafood, but he seems to not have any interest in anything not from water.”

When his brother just sighed and rolled his eyes at him, Otabek paused, "But -- if I hadn't … figured this out, he might have died?"

"It's a stupid present. Honestly, what am I going to do with it? For all I care, you can have it if you want it -- after my coronation, no one will ever think of it again, stupid thing that needs to be here in the center of the great hall."

Otabek stood there, speechless, as he watched his brother walk up to smack the glass, causing the creature inside to draw back.

"Stop! That hurts him. The water amplifies the sound --"

The tank was struck again, this time harder and with his brother's dagger instead of his hand. Without thinking, Otabek threw himself between his brother and the tank. He wished he was surprised, but he wasn't as his brother just tossed him aside with a curse before going back to oversee the preparations for the coronation.

Otabek was left on the floor, leaning against the tank with the creature watching him. Even if his brothers were cruel, he still loved them.

* * *

Every day, as the night of the full moon drew closer, the one human brought him food, staying by the tank without any signs of fear as he spoke softly. He wasn't sure. He was just counting the days until he would make his escape.

Today was different though. Today another figure was with the human that brings him food. Then, that human was banging on the tank, and Yuri hated how much it hurt, but he couldn't do anything about it -- not yet. His eyes widened as he saw the one human trying to stop the other. He didn't know why -- or maybe he did. The one human wasn't like the others. The one was kind -- or at least seemed kind.

After a brief fight, the human who brings him food was near unconscious on the ground and the larger human was walking away. As Yuri swam over there, he realized that it was concern that he was feeling. Maybe this one human is different. Maybe, this one human wasn't evil. He floated there in the water, looking down at him -- yes, maybe just that one human wasn't evil. He stayed there, watching the kind one until he got up, spoke some more soft words, and then left.

Swimming back to his corner, Yuri curled up again, conserving his strength. He didn't know what everyone was getting ready for, but he knew it was something -- and he knew his time was soon.

* * *

Two days later, the party was loud, but Yuri was biding his time. He had no idea what was going on with all the people, but they seemed to be watching some sort of celebration. In the beginning, people crowded around his tank to look at him and marvel, but when he didn't do anything but stay in the back corner, people soon lost interest.

He was mostly recovered from his capture with help from the food and care from the one human. He was rather certain that he knew that one's name. Otabek. It felt strange to say with his mouth, but he could. He realized he did speak their language, just hearing it from outside the water was so strange. He hadn't said anything -- no, he was too smart for that.

Why would he want to speak to humans? All they did was capture and kill his kind. Humans had invaded Rusalka lands. Humans had overfished Rusalka lakes, destroyed rivers, cut down forests -- they were no friends. But the nagging thought of how the one human had cared for him just would not leave his mind.

The sun had set hours ago, and the party was calming down. Yuri knew it would soon be his time to move. The moonlight could almost be seen through the highest window -- the full moon. His kind had secrets. This one no living human knew -- every human that had ever seen it had taken that secret to their grave.

He looked up, seeing the full moon as it illuminated the great hall. With a deep breath, Yuri swam to the front edge of his tank. This would hurt, but it had to be done. Reaching back, he broke off the longest of his dorsal spines. Blood trailed into the water, but there was no time to react to that pain. In the moonlight, Yuri could move.

With one arm, he pulled himself out of the water, his beautiful tail transitioning to legs before his dripping wet feet touched the floor. With his skin glistening with scales, he ran forward. Without giving anyone time to react, the first two armed guards were dead. Poison oozed from the spine in his hands, now mixed with human blood.

He couldn't pause to think; he had to kill. This was his only chance at freedom. Impossibly fast, he darted forward, slicing through anyone that tried to stop him. It only took moments for the palace guards to realize there was an attack. As Yuri faced armor and steel, he didn't escape unbloodied. He wasn't human though, and for this brief hour tonight, he was near unstoppable. His scales stopped most of the attacks, and his weapon was stronger than any steel, with poison so strong he only had to break the skin on any opponent to end them.

He gripped the door to the throne room -- the last of the humans were there, ready to fight him, and he was not going to deny anyone that fight. His time was fading fast. The moon would only be high in the sky for a little longer. He heard Otabek yell, panic in his voice -- of course, there was. He was killing the man's kind right in front of him.

Shaking and bloodied, Yuri paused, feeling his own blood running down his thigh from a wound deeper than he wanted to acknowledge. There were only five humans left. All of them armed. Four he wished dead. One -- one he wasn't prepared to admit how he wanted that on to live.

* * *

The screams from the main room echoed -- until they stopped, and Otabek knew the only reason the screams stopped was death. Then he saw the assailant enter the throne room -- it only took him seconds to realize who -- no, what, it was. That was not a person. While he had two legs at the moment instead of the tail, that was very much the beautiful Rusalka -- and Otabek was frozen in place.

He couldn't move as he watched person after person fall in an impossible bloodbath. How could one creature kill this many people? Then, there were just five of them. One remaining guard, his father, his two brothers and himself. He was still couldn't move, looking into those beautiful, jewel-like eyes.

As their eyes met, Otabek gasped, unconsciously taking a step back. The sentience of the creature was not in question. There was no joy in these actions. Without thinking, Otabek tried to plead with him to stop, the words ignored as every remaining member of his family was slaughtered in front of his eyes even as he couldn't raise a hand to harm the creature. Everywhere he looked, there was no escaping the bloodshed. He was unarmed. He stood no chance where so many trained soldiers had fallen.

He watched as the creature reached down, carefully picking up the blood-covered crown off of his brother's head. The spike in one hand and the crown in the other, the Rusalka turned to him, speaking the common dialect of the North. "Your name. It is Otabek?"

Shock flooded him as he nodded. He knew the creature was sentient. To speak, to know a human language... he had never expected that. "Why … why did you?" Even as he asked it, he knew.

"They took me from my home, almost killed me. Humans have killed so many of my kind, but you -- you are different." He stepped forward, his graceful body covered in scales that rippled in the moonlight, the crown in his hands. Carefully, he placed it on Otabek's head. "You were kind to me." The words were only whispered as the bloodied metal weighed heavily on Otabek's head. Instead of killing him, the weapon was dropped and the Rusalka's hand was placed on Otabek's cheek as the creature whispered, "I am Yuri and I won't kill you." Instead of death, a soft kiss was placed on Otabek's lips … and then Yuri's time was up.

Before his eyes, the creature -- no Yuri -- collapsed to the floor, barely breathing as he reverted to his natural, aquatic form. The beautiful and deadly creature helpless in front of Otabek. They were the only two still alive -- the king and the creature that killed his family. The Rusalka's fate entirely in Otabek's hands.

* * *

No plea for mercy had been made, Yuri hadn't asked for any. He was spent, helpless -- but those that had captured him and hurt him had paid. He accepted his death. But, instead of revenge at the new King's hands, he was gingerly picked up and carried out of the building. As his own blood ran from his wounds, he felt the strong heartbeat of Otabek through the ceremonial armor, a steady, reassuring thrum. The sound of boots on stone changing to boots on dirt, and then boots on sand, as he was carried to the lake.

Cold water washed over his scales, washing away the blood of the fight. He knew Otabek should have killed him. Instead, as Yuri finally was able to open his eyes, he saw the pain in those dark brown human eyes. Without thinking, he reached up to touch the man's cheek.

"I'm sorry for what my kind has done -- please …" Otabek stilled though, the words dying on his lips as Yuri kissed him again.

Yuri closed his eyes, whispering, "Be a better king than your father was … I will come if I am called." He couldn't stay, he shouldn't stay. Slowly he swam away, knowing the pain in Otabek's eyes was echoed in his own. They were both alone and Yuri always would be.


End file.
